geekosystem

Holiday shopping has become a bit of spectacle, hasn't it? Between the rise of Black Friday sales and the mass hysteria that can ensue over "it-gifts", it's not hard to see how you could get a sort of disturbing, secret enjoyment about watching the world's mad dash to buy the right presents. For some of us, though, watching simply won't be enough... Which is why a couple of UK-based online bookies are setting odds for what video game will sell the most copies this holiday season. Of course, the odds heavily favor Call of Duty: Black Ops II. With Call of Duty games winning the holiday race for the last three years, how could they not?

The saga of Desert Bus is as long and storied as the game itself. Originally created in 1995 by magicians Penn and Teller for the short-lived SegaCD, Desert Bus was merely a piece of a much larger suite of games called Smoke and Mirrors. Though never released, Desert Bus gained much notoriety as it involved driving from Tucson from Las Vegas at 45 mph in real time. Now, after years of waiting, the game is available for your mobile device.

Remember those happy days of childhood, sitting in the sandbox with your yellow die-cast toy trucks and loaders? Those were simpler days, happier days. Forget them. Now, thanks to Las Vegas based Dig This, you can drive actual construction equipment in a vacant lot without any of the pesky certifications nor the career in construction normally required for such a task. Basically, that episode of Malcolm in the Middle. For a paltry $400, you get some basic training and two hours to dig ditches, lift 2,000 pound tires and other heavy things, and compete against your friends, all while tooling around in actual Caterpillar construction equipment. Your inner child is revving his or her engine already, I can tell. The park's owner Ed Mumm would certainly understand; he apparently came up with the concept for the park after renting some equipment to work on his house. He tells the Engineering News-Record:

"I wasn't making much progress on the house, but I was having great time," Mumm says. "I felt that it was something everyone could enjoy, and there was nothing like it out there."

If you're 14 and older and have some cash to burn, there are far less satisfying ways to spend your money in Vegas. (Dig This via BoingBoing)